White House avoids gun policy talk in wake of Connecticut shooting

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Friday that the Obama administration would not be engaging in a “policy debate” regarding gun control today, in the wake of an elementary school massacre in Connecticut.

A ban on “assault weapons” remains a long-standing goal of President Barack Obama, but “today is not a day… to engage in the usual policy debates,” said Carney.

“We’re still waiting for more information about the incident in Connecticut,” he said at a scheduled midday press conference.

“I think it is important on a day like to this …. to feel enormous sympathy for families that are affected and do everything we can to support state and local law enforcement,” he said.

Under a 1993 state law, possession of “assault weapons” is banned in Connecticut.

“Assault weapons” is a politically-flexible term, often used for semi-automatic weapons that look like soldiers’ personal weapons, such as the M-4 carbine.

Obama also talked with FBI Direct Robert Mueller and called Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, “to express his condolences and express his concerns for those who have lost loved ones,“ Carney said at 1:19 p.m.